What to know about edge-to-edge quilting with the HV DESIGNER EPIC 3

It’s already the end of the week! There are so many projects and not enough time! What did you think of yesterday’s quilted placemat with applique? I love that mySewnet software is easy to use, and I don’t need a USB to send the designs to the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3.

Today, we’ll explore edge-to-edge quilting in the hoop with machine embroidery. Let’s get to it!

I’ll use the DESIGNER Regal Hoop to quilt with the embroidery machine, which is becoming extremely popular among quilters. With this large hoop, I’ll need to use fewer hooping stitches, so I’ll finish it much faster!

Here’s a tip for calculating the size of the backing.

Measure your quilt and take note of the size of the embroidery design you’ll be using. My quilt is 30 inches square, and the embroidery design fits into a 10” by 16” hoop – the equivalent of the DESIGNER Regal Hoop (465 by 260). I’ll have to do two rows of three hoopings in each row to fill the quilt. If you want or need more precision, you can always stitch out a sample of the quilting motif to get the exact measurement. I start in the top left-hand corner. The design will rarely work out exactly, so you’ll have to stitch off the right-hand side and the bottom.

To accommodate this, the backing must be larger by at least one-half the width of the embroidery hoop you’ll use. If the backing isn’t large enough, you may want to add some strips of fabric along the appropriate sides so you can readily hoop the quilt. You won’t stitch on this excess. It simply allows you to hoop the quilt. When you layer your project, put the excess on the right-hand side and bottom, but still leave enough so that you can hoop the top left corner.

The first step is to layer the quilt. I’m using up some batting scraps, and as long as I have the backing large enough to hoop, I’ll be OK. I didn’t technically baste this project as it’s only 30” square, but I used steam in my iron and pressed the front and the back with the batting between. It’s been my experience that the pressing is enough to keep the three layers stable when quilting with an embroidery hoop.

While I can hoop a thicker batting in the traditional hoop, I’m not a fan and prefer to use a thin batting or a fusible fleece. This first hooping is relatively simple, but I need to know where my embroidery design will start and stop. You may have to fiddle with the positioning until you get familiar with the stitchable area and how it relates to the design. Notice that there isn’t a lot of excess quilt backing along the left-hand side and the top, but there’s enough for the project to fit securely in the hoop. I’ll work from the top left in rows, keeping the bulk of the excess backing on the right-hand side and the bottom.

My priority with this first hooping is that I want my design to stitch along the left edge and the top of the quilt. The design could run off slightly on those edges, but I don’t want the design to be too far inside the edge of the quilt. The first time you hoop a project, it might take some time to understand where the design is relative to the edge and top of the embroidery hoop, so take a minute to understand that. We’ll use the DESIGNER EPIC 3 positioning tools to assist with the process.

Now, it’s time to load the design and check the positioning. You may need to adjust the fabric in the hoop, and as I  mentioned, the first time can be a bit tricky. There’s an indentation along the edge of the embroidery hoop (picture in a minute) to show you the stitching area. That indentation is very helpful to get you started, though it depends on how big your design is and where it’s sitting in the embroidery hoop.

Don’t forget that if you have many designs in a folder starting with a similar name, you can change from icons to a list, which is very helpful.

I’ll move to embroidery stitch-out mode, and the first thing I’ll do is a Corner Check. You’ll find the  Corner Check in the Stitch-Out Progress tab.

I’ll check that the top left corner of the design matches how I hooped my fabric. Then, I’ll proceed to check the remaining four corners.

If I need to tweak the design’s position, I can always use my Exact Position tool, which you’ll find in Embroidery Stitch Out. I must remember that the larger the design, the less room there is in my chosen hoop. Sometimes, I have very little room to move from side to side. I have plenty of room to move up and down in this case. I get very good at knowing where and how to hoop my project as I progress.

Many people use embroidery thread in the bobbin and the top for quilting, but I wanted to try a non-embroidery thread. I confess that I let the entire design stitch out before I checked the back, and it was – well, we can see that it was not pretty. So, I recommend stitching a couple of inches to check the tension and adjust accordingly. It’s easier to rip out a few inches than an entire hoop, although in my case, the tension was so off that it didn’t take long to remove all the stitches.

The default setting is 2.8, so I raised the top tension to 5.0 and got better results. Please do not assume, as I did,  that the tension will be OK. The DESIGNER EPIC 3 has no clue what kind of thread you’re using, so always do a test stitch and become comfortable with changing the tension settings!

Here’s what the front looks like.

And here’s the back. The top tension could have been a bit higher – maybe a 6, but it’s still a well-formed stitch. Don’t be afraid to play with the tension!

Before I knew it, the first hoop was complete. I stayed with the embroidery to ensure the edges along the top and the left-hand side did not flip in.

Now for the fun of doing the second hooping. Oh, did you notice the clips along the right-hand side? I only had the backing in the hoop along the edge and used the clips for extra support.

When you purchase an edge-to-edge embroidery quilting design, there is a start and end point, and both are on the same horizontal level of the design. Your start point must match the previous endpoint.

By starting at the top-left, working to the right, and working in rows, I’m emulating how the quilting would take place on a long arm. It worked like a charm on this project.

I used the same design repeatedly, so I never moved out of Embroidery Stitch Out mode. Here’s another trick to help with the second and subsequent hooping.

When working on the next hooping, return to stitch number one. Then, using the Hoop Position tool, select Current Stitch. In an ideal world, this stitch should fall just beside the last stitch from the previous design. If it doesn’t, you must either rehoop the fabric or reposition the design on the screen. The first one or two hoopings can be a bit of a challenge, but then you’ll get the hang of it, and it’ll be pretty simple.

You may need to fuss with the hooping or move the design in the hoop, but remember to use all the available tools to make the designs fit where you want them – Corner Check, Exact Position, and Hoop Position – Current Stitch Position all help to make quilting in the hoop accurate and enjoyable.

When you’re happy with the placement, pull up the bobbin thread (I don’t use scissors, as I like to control the bobbin thread) and then touch Start.

Another aid I use is a measuring tape which I place along the inside of the hoop to help me identify the stitching area. Remember those indentations along the edges of the hoop as they indicate where the design will stitch. Don’t rely entirely on this, use the tools within the embroidery stitch out. Drop your needle manually if you need to double-check the position.

I find this step handy when hooping the designs as there will be some previous stitching inside the hoop, but the big question is how much. This step helps me judge that.

I didn’t baste this project as it was only 30 inches square, although I did press all three layers together and double-checked the back every time I re-hooped. While it looks like I have a crease on the left, it’s just a tiny wrinkle under the stitching. Feel free to baste if you feel more comfortable doing so.

The design will likely extend beyond the edge as you approach the final hooping on the right-hand side. It would be rare for it to line up perfectly. I stay close to my machine while stitching that edge. If you like, you can stop the embroidery when the stitches reach the end and advance until the stitching is back on the project.

I find that the second you don’t pay attention, something you don’t want happens. Thankfully, this time, it was within the bounds of the binding, so I left it.

I had to fuss a bit to get started on the second row, but once I understood the height of the embroidery design in the hoop, I had a better idea of how to hoop the project. I should mention that I didn’t place a single mark on this quilt, yet there are zero overlaps or significant gaps between the designs. Using the DESIGNER EPIC 3 tools, I got a gorgeous quilt, entirely quilted with machine embroidery. I’m thrilled!

I completed this project with just six hoopings and am thrilled with how easy it was. There was a bit of a learning curve, but it’s all logical and worked out amazingly. There might be a slight, less than two stitches, gap between the start and end of a couple of the designs, but you do your best to fit them in so there are no pattern overlaps. Don’t forget that fabric and quilts are incredibly fluid and can shift and shrink as they are quilted. A quilt will never be perfect, so we need not fret. It would take you some time to spot those joins, so I’m not losing any sleep over it!

As I do for all my two-sided embroidery, I turned off the Jump Stitch and Automatic Cutter and cut the threads manually. And I also turned off the deLuxe Stitch System. It’s all a question of playing with the various settings and discovering what works for you with the type of thread, needle, and fabrics you use.

I had a blast playing with the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 this week. I hope you picked up some tips and are inspired to try something new. Be sure to visit your local Husqvarna VIKING dealer to take this incredible sewing and embroidery machine for a test drive. Just reading about it here doesn’t do justice to all its abilities!!

Have a great day!

Ciao!!

This is part 5 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 4: Creating an applique placemat in the DESIGNER Regal Hoop!